Amanda Baran

Consultant

Amanda Baran is an attorney and advocate who serves as a consultant for the ILRC. Before starting her own consulting practice, she worked at the Department of Homeland Security for almost ten years where she held a number of significant positions including Chief of Public Engagement at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and most recently, Principal Director of Immigration Policy for the Department’s Office of Policy. In 2011, she served as Senior Advisor to the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders where she focused on immigration, civil rights, and women’s rights and engaged with community leaders across the country. Prior to joining the federal government, Amanda was a Staff Attorney with Legal Momentum’s Immigrant Women Program where she advocated for the Violence Against Women Act and trained a wide variety of stakeholders on issues related to immigrant women’s access to health care, immigration benefits, family court, and public benefits. Amanda began her legal career as a staff attorney at Legal Services of North West Texas where she represented victims of domestic violence. She received her law degree from the University of Houston Law Center and obtained dual degrees in government and English from the University of Texas at Austin. Amanda immigrated to the United States as a child and lives in Arlington, Virginia, with her husband and two boys.